DK168187B1 - Apparatus for boning cuts of meat with ribs - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for the deboning of pieces of meat with oblong bones, comprising a conveyor (1), above which are placed two fixed rollers (19,21). The rollers are desired to grab hold of a piece of meat lying on the conveyor, so that it is conveyed in a squeezed way on the conveyor towards a deboning area. The area comprises a horizontal driving roller (3) and fingers (17) which protrude into the travelling path of the piece of meat. The fingers are placed at an interval allowing the passage of bones between them, whereas the meat will be bent down into the gap between the fingers and the driving roller. The shaft of the driving roller (3) is suspended in bearings which can move independently of each other in a plane at right angles to the axis of the shaft. A system of bellows (6,9) actuate each of the bearings in an upwards and forward direction towards the fingers (17). The suspension of the driving roller (3) provides a powerfull conveyance of the piece of meat squeezed between the bent fingers and the driving roller. The deboning of ribs from e.g. a piece of pork is performed with an improved rate of success. <IMAGE>

Description

in DK 168187 B1

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for deboning meat cuts with ribs, for example, removing ribs from a pork side, which apparatus comprises a horizontal conveyor over which is disposed one or more fixed rollers or wheels adapted to engage a piece of meat. lying on the conveyor with the leg side facing up and the longitudinal direction of the legs 5 in the direction of transport, so that the piece of meat is advanced clampingly on the conveyor towards a deboning area, which area comprises a horizontal drive mile whose shaft ends are guided in movable suspended bearings arranged to compensate for different thicknesses of the meat pieces, as well as parallel fingers arranged after the drive roll and project into the movement of the meat piece, the fingers 10 being spaced apart allowing passage of legs between them as the meat bends into the gap formed by the fingers and the drive mill.

From the specification to Danish patent application No. 4360/87, cf. Danish Patent Application No. 159899, such an apparatus is known for boning a pork side. It has an endless conveyor belt on which an operator places the piece of meat to be freed from 15 ribs. The piece of meat is passed under some squeezing guide rods whose spacing corresponds to the distance between the ribs in the pork sides, whereby the supporting ribs guide into the spaces between the rods. A mile studded with star-shaped rubber wheels grips the ribs lying between the bars and provides a clamping five-foot movement of the piece of meat onto the conveyor belt. The belt goes around a 20-mile drive that has a soft surface or is resiliently suspended. According to an alternative, not shown embodiment, the belt can only be walked about two miles behind the drive mile while the drive roller is driven by a separate pull.

Above the drivetrain is a mile-lined mile, which in a pinching manner carries the piece of meat on. Immediately after the mile, the guide rods are bent down towards the 25-mile drive so that the formed fingers force the meat downward. Due to the stiffness of the ribs, they will be reluctant to follow the meat. Instead, they tear themselves free from the meat and pass out between their fingers, after which they are gripped by two miles that pull them out of the meat.

2 DK 168187 B1

The known apparatus has been found to be unsatisfactory in that the piece of meat often clings to the bent fingers, since there are apparently no forces to separate the ribs from the meat. For example, the piece of meat may sit transversely, thereby blocking the apparatus.

It is the object of the present invention to modify the known apparatus in such a way that the said problem is avoided or at least substantially reduced so that the apparatus can operate under operating conditions at slaughterhouses and meat processing establishments.

The apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the bearings for the shaft ends of the drive roller can move independently of one another in a plane perpendicular to the shaft, and that each of the bearings is influenced by an oblique upward force, towards the fingers.

By mounting the drivetrain in the manner indicated, not only is an automatic adjustment of the drivetrain according to variations in the thickness of the meat, but also an adjustment of the gap between the drivetrain and the ends of the fingers, and the drivetrain adapts further to the varying thicknesses seen across the transport direction. . Out of the area where the separation between the meat and the bone takes place, the meat is pressed firmly against the fingers throughout its width due to the special suspension of the drive mile and the inclined upward force acting on the bearings. This means that the separation between meat and bones occurs more easily while providing an effective power transfer to the meat piece. Therefore, the boning of a piece of meat in an apparatus with the 20 changes mentioned can be carried out with great certainty. The financial loss that may be due to a necessary manual post-processing of the meat for the removal of bone remnants has been significantly reduced.

The oblique upward force acting on each of the shaft ends can be provided by known force devices such as springs, but it is preferred to use 25 devices driven by a hydraulic or gas medium since the force thereof is independent of the travel. Thus, hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders can be used. According to a particular embodiment, air springs, preferably bellows driven by compressed air, can be used, as they are very compact and can provide a great deal of force.

DK 168187 B1 3

In order to provide a good abutment between the piece of meat and the branches / roll, a sloping upward force of considerable size is preferably used, for example at least 500 kN on each shaft end. For example, the direction of the force relative to the horizontal may be in the range of 30-60 °.

The oblique upward force can be provided by several force devices acting on the shaft ends, a horizontal and a vertical actuator at each shaft end allowing the shaft end to move in a vertical direction independent of its horizontal position, and vice versa.

The drive roller and conveyor are preferably interconnected so that the conveyor follows the varying settings of the drive roller as the meat piece is driven through the apparatus. They can thereby cooperate and provide the optimal grip in the meat during boning. In one embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, the drive roller and the conveyor are mounted on a common frame which is movable in a frame, whereby there are provided power actuators between the frame and the frame.

The frame may comprise two rails, in which are fixed bearings for the drive roller and miles 15 in the conveyor. A vertical acting force transducer is preferably arranged next to each of the shaft ends of the drive mile, which can influence the vanes upwards relative to the frame, while horizontally acting power transducers may be located between the distal ends of the vanes and the frame.

An embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the frame 20 comprises a horizontal mounting plate, on which are attached two vertically acting power transducers, the movable part of which is connected to each of its rails in the vicinity of the shaft end of the drive. The wings may at their other end be hinged to the plate.

The mounting plate can rest on the rack in a horizontally movable manner, fairy by means of wheels or 25 slides. Between the rack and the plate there are two horizontal actuators, each of which affects the shaft end with a horizontal force, towards the fingers separating the legs from the meat.

4 DK 168187 B1

During operation of the appliance, the drive roller occupies various oblique positions, depending on the varying thickness of the meat across the transport direction. It may also be desirable for the drive roller to be allowed to move in its longitudinal direction. For example, the drive roller may be suspended in the rack with two horizontal power transducers which, when the drive roller differs from the center position, influence it back towards this position.

The drive roller and the conveyor may be assembled so that the roller serves as the drive roller for the conveyor belt, as shown in rig. 1 of the description of the above-mentioned Danish patent application No. 4360/87. However, it is preferred to keep the conveyor and drive roller separate, in which case it is easier to use a small diameter drive roller. To promote bone and meat separation, a drive roller having a diameter of less than 60 mm is preferably used.

The drive roller preferably has a decreasing diameter towards its ends, whereby the thick right or left side of the meat piece can more easily pass the gap between the drive roller and the overlying roller. For example, the diameter of the drive roller may be 2-5 mm smaller at the ends 15 than at the center.

For grabbing the leg ends passing between the fingers, there are preferably two parallel rollers with opposite direction of rotation. According to one embodiment, the axle ends of the rollers can be displaced independently of one another vertically, towards and away from a resting position closest to each other, so that the gap can adapt to the width of the legs 20 as seen in the full width. The shaft ends can be actuated against the resting position by means of power transducers, for example biased steel springs. In this embodiment, the separation and extraction are further improved, with all the legs engaging with the rollers, which are preferably driven at a higher peripheral speed than the driving roll.

The rollers are preferably steel and have sharp teeth that can cut into the surface of the legs 25.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawing, in which 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention; FIG. 2 shows the same apparatus in the process of boning a pork piece, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line ΠΙ-ΙΙΙ in FIG. First

DK 168187 B1 5

The apparatus comprises a conveyor 1 consisting of two rollers and a rubber band (Fig. 1). The conveyor rollers are rotatably mounted in racks 2 located on either side of the conveyor. A drive roller 3 is rotatably suspended between the bars 2. The drive roller 3 has a decreasing diameter towards its ends (Fig. 3) and is provided with 5 teeth extending substantially its entire width.

The vanes 2 are attached at one end (Fig. 1) to a mounting plate 4 by means of swivel joint 5, so that the conveyor 1 and the drive mile 3 can swivel together about the axis of the swivel which is perpendicular to the paper. At each other end of the beams is mounted a vertically acting bellows 6. The bellows 6 rest in each of its housing 7, 10 which is welded to the underside of the mounting plate 4.

Below the mounting plate 4, two horizontal bellows 9 are mounted on brackets 8. The other end of these bellows rests on the side of a frame 10. The frame forms part of a rack 11 containing motors for the conveyor 1 and the drive mile 3.1 fig.

3, it is seen that the drive shafts of the motors are connected via universal joint 12.

The mounting plate 4 is provided with four wheels 13. The plate with the conveyor and the drive roller can thus, by mining or sliding the wheels on the frame 10, move in a horizontal plane parallel to the plate plane. In each of the housings 7 below the plate 4 there are two horizontally acting bellows 12, one end of which rests on the side of the housing, while the other end has a spacer 14. The free end of these spacers rests on the side of the frame 10. In connection with the bellows 12, there are some stop means such that when the plate 4 is displaced to the left of the center position (Fig. 3), it will be affected to the right by the left bellow while it will be affected to the left by the right bellows if the plate comes to the right of the center position.

Above the conveyor 1 is mounted in the frame 11 a fastening bar 15, which carries a number of bar rods 16, the free ends of which form inclined, curved and horizontally flexible fingers 17. The exit distance between the bars corresponds to the distance between the ribs in a pork piece.

6 DK 168187 B1

A drive shaft 18 mounted in the rack 11 carries a series of rubber stem wheels 19, the tips of which can go down between the rods 16. Another drive shaft 20 in the stand 11 carries a series of toothed steel wheels 21, which can also go down between the rods 16. Between the individual steel wheels 21 there are nylon washers 22 which restrict the movement of the rods upwards.

5 In the rack 11 are attached two sets of backing guides 23 and 24, in which two sets of bearing blocks 25 and 26 can steer vertically under the influence of springs 27. Each set of bearing blocks carries a toothed steel roller 28 and 29.

The device works as follows:

After a possible pre-treatment including scratching of the ribs on a pork piece, an operator places the piece of meat on the conveyor 1 so that the rib side faces upward and the ribs are parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor. The free ends of the ribs must be in the forward direction. The conveyor introduces the piece of meat under the rods 16, where the ribs will search into the spaces, the distance between the surface of the conveyor and the rods decreasing in the feed direction. A short distance below the bars, the piece of meat will push the conveyor 1 downwards against the vertical forces acting from the bellows 6, whereby one side will typically be pressed further down than the other due to the varying thicknesses of the piece of meat, seen in cross section. In this way, the gap between the conveyor and the rods automatically adjusts to whether it is a right or left piece from the butcher's body. The bellows 6 are connected to a compressed air reservoir whose pressure can be adjusted. Typically, the force from each of the bellows in the loaded position is 500 N.

The tips of the stem wheels 19 grasp the rib side of the meat piece and assist in the pinching of the meat piece.

The piece of meat is advanced to the gap between the drive roll 3 and the steel wheels 21, where the engagement 25 is particularly good, the teeth of the drive roller and the steel wheels gripping the piece of meat over its entire width.

When the piece of meat hits the fingers 17, the meat is bent downwardly around the periphery of the drive roll 3, while the ribs, due to their stiffness, differ from the meat and continue horizontally between the fingers 17. The meat is carried on in a pinching manner in the gap between the drive roll 3 and the fingers 17, under a counter force from the bellows 9, 5 is able to push the drive 3 back, to the right in FIG. 1. The drive mileage 3 will also adjust in the horizontal plane to the varying thicknesses of the meat and exert a substantially constant compressive force throughout the width which ensures a good grip between the meat and the teeth of the driving mileage. The pressure in the bellows 9 can be adjusted to each exert a constant horizontal force of 500 N in the working position, so that the resulting force from the bellows 6 and 10 9 becomes a force of 700 N directed obliquely upwards towards the arc. on the rods 16, where the separation between meat and bone takes place mainly. Here, a good facility between meat and rods is provided throughout the width, which promotes separation.

The drive 3 and thus the mounting plate 4 will typically have a tendency to adjust to an oblique position during the boning operation, which the bellows 12 with their spacers 14 will allow under some counter force. When the drive roller 3 is no longer actuated against an inclined position of a piece of meat, one of the bellows 12 ensures that the mounting plate with drive roller and conveyor is aligned to the center position.

The ribs continue to the miles 28 and 29, which with their teeth and under 20 influence of the springs 27 grip the legs. FIG. 2 shows this phase of the boning operation.

Eventually, the ribs are ripped from their broom seat in the meat and thrown onto a transverse conveyor belt which removes them to a waste bin. The boneless meat falls on a conveyor belt placed under the drive 3 and is brought to post-processing, with 25 bushings, tendons and obstacles being manually added to the required extent.

Claims (10)

An apparatus for boning meat cuts with ribs, removing the ribs from a pork side, comprising an horizontal conveyor (1) over which is disposed one or more fixed rollers or wheels (19, 21), arranged to engaging a piece of meat lying on the conveyor with the leg side facing up and the longitudinal direction of the legs in the direction of transport, so that the meat piece is pushed clampingly on the conveyor towards a deboning area, which comprises a horizontal drive roller (3), the shaft ends of which are guided in movable suspension. bearings arranged to compensate for different thicknesses of the pieces of meat, as well as parallel fingers (17) arranged after the driving roller and projecting into the path of movement of the pieces of meat, the fingers (17) being spaced apart allowing passage of legs between them, while the meat bends into the gap formed by the fingers and the drive roller, characterized in that the bearings can move independently of the shaft ends of the drive roller (3). the duct in a plane perpendicular to the shaft, and that each of the bearings is affected by an oblique upward force, in the direction 15 towards the fingers (17). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that air springs, preferably bellows (6,9), are driven by compressed air to provide the inclined upward force. Apparatus according to claims 1-2, characterized in that the drive roller (3) and the conveyor (1) are interconnected in such a way that the conveyor follows the varying settings of the drive roller as the meat piece is driven through the apparatus. Apparatus according to claims 1-3, characterized in that the drive roller (3) and the conveyor (1) are mounted on a common frame (2,4) which is movable in a rack (10, 11) and that between the frame (2,4) and the frame (10,11) are provided with power generators (9,12) which affect the frame. 9 DK 168187 B1 Apparatus according to claims 1-4, characterized in that the frame comprises two rails (2) in which are fixedly mounted bearings for the drive roller and rollers in the conveyor, whereby a vertically acting power generator can be arranged next to each of the drive shaft ends. 6) arranged to influence the uprights (2) upwards relative to the rack (10,11), 5 while horizontal actuators (9) may be disposed between the distal ends of the uprights and the rack. Apparatus according to claims 1-5, characterized in that the frame comprises a horizontal mounting plate (4), to which are attached two vertical actuators (6), the movable part of which is connected to each of its vanes (2) in the vicinity of the shaft end of the drive roller. Apparatus according to claims 1-6, characterized in that between the frame (10,11) and the plate (4) there are two horizontal actuators (9), each of which actuate the shaft end of the drive roller (3) with a horizontal force, towards the fingers (17) separating the legs from the meat. Apparatus according to claims 1-7, characterized in that the drive roller (3) has a diameter of less than 60 mm. Apparatus according to claims 1-8, characterized in that the drive roller (3) has a decreasing diameter towards its ends. Apparatus according to claims 1-9 with two parallel bars (28,29) for engaging the leg ends passing between the fingers (17), characterized in that the shaft ends of the rollers (28,29) can be displaced independently of one another in a vertical direction towards and away from a resting position close to each other, and that the shaft ends are actuated towards the resting position by means of energizers (27).